Day 4 of Kentucky Trip

Today I am doing food group. We went out in the morning to get supplies to make dinner for tonight, and breakfast and lunch for tomorrow. We are doing a Greek theme, so my food group is dressing up as greek gods and we are serving "greek food". We also decorate the dining room.

Yesterday was our first work day, I went to the school and cleaned bathrooms, lockers, and then scrubbed lunch tables seats. Scrubbing the dirt of of seats requires a lot of force, but it is very satisfying.


Now I am going to decorate the room with balloons, streamers, and other decorations with my food group.

Megan

New Orleans and Detroit

By Allison Melcher

Detroit and New Orleans are often compared because they have both been struck by disaster. New Orleans disaster is easier to define because the majority of the problem was caused by hurricane Katrina and the red tape that followed. Detroit has been struggling with a deteriorating economy, corruption, and crime for decades. I went on a week long service trip to New Orleans in February. I took hundreds of photos and videos. A few of those photos, along with newspaper clippings and bits of a chip bag, are shown on the left side of the collage. I went on a service trip to Detroit from July 8th through 15th. I took almost a thousand photos. My photos from my trip to Detroit are on the right side of the collage. In the center of the collage is a photo of graffiti at the Packard plant in Detroit. It says "so what do we do now?" Surrounding that photo are more newspaper clippings that say things such as "power," "unemployment", and "How serious is corruption?".All the newspaper clippings are from a recent issue of The Michigan Citizen, a Detroit newspaper.  All the questions surrounding the circle in the middle were taken from an article about Sudan. However, these are not problems faced only by some obscure country in a far corner of the world; these are problems faced in our own country, and even in our own state. Something needs to change and youth are not the problem, they are the solution. This collage is just bits of glossy paper, trash, and newspaper clippings, but it represents a larger movement in our world.

Day 8

Morning at 12612 Birwood Ave.

I am told an alarm clock went off at 6:45.  

This is what it looked like after 8:15, when I woke up.  I am amazed I could sleep in the middle of the dining room, while teens were getting breakfast and walking around me.
Detroit 2012 was very, very good to me.
Thank you, Allison, Carlos, Chad, Cleo, Johnny, Megan, Michael, Nils, Sage, Stephanie for Detroit 2012.

You Know You've Been on This Service Trip For Too Long When...

1. Morning comes too soon.
2. Silverware goes in the fridge.
3. When I grab Cleo's flip flops when a glass is broken.
4. The fridge goes in the dining room.
5. You don't notice that everyone's feet are stinky.
6. You sit on the couch cushions at the dinner table because there aren't enough chairs for everyone.
7. You worry about where you left the donkey.
8. Someone says "papayas and mangos" and you just say "no".
9. Stephanie sings the "humpty dance".
10. You sleep in the middle of the floor and people step around you and you don't wake up.
11. You make coffee with a paper towel because coffee filters are non existent.
12. There are too many memos.
13. You take "fishfamily pictures".
14. Your "fish family" turns into superheroes.

Cleo

Johnny

The Donkey and a doll at the Packard Plant.

Fish-eyed Rich.

Superhero Sage.

Fishfamily fish pet, Rev.

Detroit Is....

Some words to describe our experiences with Detroit...

Detroit is alive!

Detroit is community.

Detroit is not abandonable. (Yeah, I just made that a word.)

Detroit is judged.

Detroit is a hopeful place, full of wonderful people.

Detroit is a place that has a long way to go but has a surprising number of people willing to work for it.

Detroit is a city that is still trying to recover.

Detroit is reimagining.

Detroit is not forgotten.

Detroit is poorly portrayed.

Detroit is thought-provoking.

Day 5, the Danger Zone

    In past days, we were told that Wednesday would be the dangerous day. Crabby people, bad attitudes, smelly feet. Well it was wrong!!!!! (other than the smelly feet. the smelly feet was every day.) Today was that " dangerous day". Otherwise , it was a good day though. As Allison would say "on my list of bad days, it wasn't the worst, but on my list of good days, it ranked pretty low." and who am I to say any different?
    We started the day off by getting ready and going to Gleaners Food Bank. The first thing we did there was sort through cucumbers, squash, zucchini, and the occasional water melon. Then we went on a tour of the the whole place, led by Ariana.

this is the super cool freezer

     Not too long after that, we folded and stapled plastic bags for around 3 1/2 hours. In that time we stayed hydrated, developed the fear of plastic bags, and became very tired. We also met a new family. They are the funniest looking people I've ever seen.

see, arent they funny looking???

this is Sage Blythe LynchMcClinsey, survivor of the Dangerous Day
signing out............bzzzzzzzz zoop!!!
(screen goes blank. you leave your computer and do something else, while wonder if the others have survived this " dangerous day". then you remember you forgot to check your email, and come back to the computer and leave this page.)

Day 4

Detroit's Nsoroma Institute is a charter school that serves grades K-12.  This is the location of our first three days of work.  We weeded and planted in the Garden of Meditation.  

Day 4 Reflection

When I was in the shower this morning I thought "Wow, the hot water is working. And so are we." Even when we are sitting around talking we are working.  It isn't the get-your-hands-dirty-or-painty type of work, although we have done a lot of that type of work as well. It is the Boggs Center's type of work. It is mental work. You must change yourself to change the world. Hope Brings Change. Change Brings Hope. Carpe diem!

Written by: Popeye

Day 2 Reflection

 (This is a post about my experiences on Monday, July 9th. I realize it is Wednesday now.)

Megan carries the hefty weeds.

Sage died. (It is a paint splatter that was already there.)

I took a wonderfully cold shower. Not knowing for sure what we wanted to do, we drove to Cass Commons. We decided to go to a work brigade at Nsoroma. Kim, the wonderfully lady who is letting us stay in one of her houses, showed us how to get to Nsoroma. Nsoroma is an african centered school. As far as I can tell, they also teach the students a lot about nature and do many hands-on projects.

Cleo is very good at weeding.

This was a mural at Nsoroma. The children painted it.

At Nsoroma, I picked some vegetables. We gave some of the vegetables to families that were playing at Nsoroma. Their faces lit up like the sky during a fireworks show.

Then we went on a mural tour. We saw four murals.

This one is about inspiring youth to follow their dreams. It was created by
 a group of youth, with the help of Juan Martinez.

This mural was also created by a group of youth. The girl on the far left is using telekenesis  to pick up trash. The guy of the left is using his growing power. The person in the light purple shirt is using their party power to create entertainment. The girl on the far right is a giant and has super speed. She is using her powers to rebuild old houses.

Youth from Detroit Sumer explain their Dance and Culture print.

Another Detroit Summer print

I found this at The Alley Project. A lot of the squares in the fence were filled
with these knitted/crocheted squares. It was really cool.

This was the most "realistic" mural. Realistic is in quotes because Yoda is a
fictional character.

This was my favorite mural. I love space-themed things.

Written by: Popeye

silverware, weeds, and mangos

Here in Detroit, we have learned a lot of new things about storage, gardening, and papayas.  We thought that it would be a good idea to store our silverware, pots, pans, and other kitchen utensils in refrigerator 18. This way we have chilled silverware, cold pots, and cool pans.
We also learned that weeds reproduce very quickly when there under attack. We pulled weeds at the Nsoroma Institute and began to plant new plants in there meditation garden. As we continued to pull the weeds they seemed to replicate; for every one we pulled another two appeared. We eventually pulled out a lot of the weeds but they would just not give up so we had to quit for the day, but tomorrow we will be back!
Finally we learned about the fruit man. Sage has been telling everybody the story of the fruit man since we got to detroit on sunday. We decided to film him telling his story and put it on youtube. We plan on making him his own youtube channel so he can share his comedic talents with the world.
This is Carlos, the co-adult

Day 1 Reflection

      We have arrived. We had no running water, but we learned how to turn it on. The big fridge was broken, but we fit 2 gallons of milk, 4 packs of lunch meat, 3 dozen eggs, 3 bags of frozen vegetables, cream cheese, and butter into the mini fridge. We had no kitchen knives, so we used a pocket knife to cut the vegetables for dinner. We had to re-imagine how to do a lot of things in our kitchen. But when we sat down in mismatched chairs to eat dinner at a long table made of two short tables to eat off mismatched plates, spaghetti and salad had never tasted better. The cherries tasted extra sweet and the water was extra cold. (This may have been partly because the hot water tank doesn't work, but that is another story.)

      Although I would have been more comfortable cooking in my own kitchen and with proper utensils, I know that this experience with ultimately make me a better cook, better improvisor, and better person. I learned how to use a garlic mincer. I learned how to use a pocket knife. I was surprised by acceptance and respect expressed by the people in our peace circle. This day has been a learning experience and an adventure in many ways.

Written by: Popeye

Day 2

Hello.  It is Day 2 of our Detroit adventure/service trip/experience/chance to get out of the house.  Whatever you call it, we're still on Day Number 2.  In my humble opinion, it's been really great.

And who am I?  I'm Cleo, Cleo Ku.  I wanted to go on this service trip to Detroit because service trips, and trips in general, I've found, are surprisingly good for my mental health.  Maybe it's because I'm busy doing work, leading conversations, and eating really good food.  It could also be because I'm helping a "greater cause", or because I'm learning about important things that will benefit me in the "real world", or maybe it's because I'm with some really cool people.  Now before this blog post sounds more like an advertisement for service trips, perhaps I should tell about our happenings for this day, Day 2.

I was personally almost hit by five things today.  This list includes a bunch of celebratory balloons, a basketball, Carlos (well, he almost stepped backwards, where I was standing), 3 long-handed shovels (at once), and clapping hands.  However, I made it through the day without a scratch on me!  This is what I call a successful day.

We all woke up, or perhaps were awoken, somewhere between 5 o' clock (me), and 7:00 (I suspect).  We had breakfast, which of course included much stumbling around, as it was early and not one of us was completely rested.  We got through, as we always do, with the help of our pure will to help others, and perhaps some coffee.

We arrived at our workplace for the day, a K-8 school that little to none of us can actually pronounce.  It is called Nsoroma, and has a really cool-sounding pronunciation.  We each have our own unique way of saying it.  Nsoroma is a very interesting place, to say the least.  The curriculum is based on African culture.  They learn about historical events from the points of view of their culture, which is very different than what I learned as an elementary/middle school student.  They also integrate agriculture into their curriculum, including aquaponics and gardening.  They have an outdoor classroom where classes can learn while listening to birds sing.  They have a "Meditation Garden" which homes fresh herbs, and about a dozen raised beds for vegetables and fruit.  We weeded the gardens, pulled scallions, and cut collard greens and broccoli.  We gave the majority of the veggies to families of children who go to the summer programs.  It was a hot, humid day with a lot of sun and little shade.  We worked, although not as hard as we are used to, for multiple hours.  However, our work was all completely worth it, at least for me, when we gave the food that we had harvested to families of children who went to the school.  The looks on their faces made it worth it.  We don't know their individual situations, but giving vegetables that the families can eat and know are good for them is a gift in itself.  Having a meal to put on the table, even just part of a meal, is so important.  Some people don't have that luxury, and I do, so making sure that even one family does have that for a day really makes me feel great.  It may seem like just words to you, but it really is an important thing to think about.  Just today we were discussing this.  Luxuries, from vegetables to cotton sheets on your bed, are great things that some people are just not used to.  This is what I personally would like to work on.  Just a little change creates a cycle that can go on forever.

After finishing our workday, we went on a Art/Mural tour to see youth murals and street artwork.  The main thing that stuck out to me is the hope that the city has, and how they display this in their artwork.  Detroit is perceived as a broken city, but the people's hope and determination is so strong and evident.  A lot of the graffiti was about the general restoration of the city, including one that said, "Save the city, kill the crackheads".  This is obviously not the best general message, but it does show how people want to "save the city".  Maybe we shouldn't "kill the crackheads", but instead assist them in what they need to personally accomplish, but the point of the message is that the people of Detroit want this restoration.

We went to eat at the Cass Commons, where people from Detroit 2012 held an "orientation".  Although we were reluctant, we attended.  I personally thought it was great.  People who have been in Detroit for the past week spoke about what they had experienced.  Some people had even ridden their bicycles from Maryland and Florida to Detroit.  This struck me as an amazing thing to do.

The food was catered from a vegan/vegetarian catering business.  Almost every food item was directly from a vegetable or fruit.  There was even "live" spaghetti, which did not involve worms, as I suspected, but zucchini.  The salad was completely from a garden (instead of a supermarket), and tasted like "the ground", as I described.  I also liked the spaghetti sauce which was made from tomatoes, vegetables, and turkey.  It was very good and tasted both homegrown and homemade.  I enjoyed the meal, as did most of the group.  We didn't even have to make our scheduled meal: fried rice.

We had a successful day.  We are all settled in, and currently there is laughter, snoring, sleepy mumbling and general contentment in the house.  I've greatly enjoyed my blog-writing time, and look forward to everyone reading my post.  I will probably write again, if I have something to say, which I know I will.

But for now, this is Cleo Ku, signing off.
(That was really cool to write.)

DETROIT 2012 PEACE CIRCLE

Sunday June 8th, Detroit 2012 participants are attending Re-Imagining Ourselves and Public Safety.  I am proud we pushed to have our Peace Circle that will follow after this discussion. 

Here are the three desired areas for our Re-imagining Youth and Youth Leadership Peace Circle (thank you Cleo, Sage, Allison, Nils, Michael, Carlos):

1. Re-imagine the image of youth.    
2. Re-imagine youth sexuality and gender identity.  
3. Re-imagine youth identity.

You all Rock. As has been stated, Be the CHANGE you wish to see in the World.  It is obvious you are doing this.


Update:
The Peace Circle was a success!  We had a good time facilitating it and we think everyone who came got something from it.  Thanks all who showed up!

 

HOME SWEET HOME

 

This Detroit trip is on it's maiden voyage!  Home Sweet Home here we come!  As we embark on the journey for our week-long Detroit stay, we are busy packing the necessary supplies and materials.

  

For the next week,  we will all wake up to the pleasant sight of sparkles above us and the happy faces of friends.

 

Here is the schedule for Sunday, July 8:

9:00am: participants arrive at Jim Toy Community Center

9:30am: participants and parents caravan to "Home Sweet Home."

10:30am-1:00pm: unpack, organize, eat lunch And PLAN FOR THE PEACE CIRCLE

2pm - 5pm: ATTEND Re-Imagining Ourselves and Public Safety

Where: Messiah Episcopal Church, 231 E. Grand Blvd., Detroit, MI

Description: A conversation about Re-Imagining Self and Public Safety with youth and leaders at Church of the Messiah. Followed by a peace circle led by the youth from Dedicated to Make A Change.

DETROIT 2012: RE-IMAGINING

We are about to embark on a week filled with exciting new experiences and brilliant moments.  This trip to Detroit began as the brain child of Sage, Carlos and Irina.  As Dedicated to Make a Change, L3C partnered with the Grace Lee Boggs Center, Allison, Megan, Maggie, and Sage have participated in weekly planning meetings at the Bogg Center.


During this next week, youth from Ypsilanti,  Ann Arbor, Grass Lake, South Lyon, and Dexter will work with the Detroit community and social activists and organizers from across the country as a part of this national gathering called Detroit 2012. The vision of Detroit 2012:  “An intentional gathering committed to the growth of souls, creating new vision, opportunity and healthful living with our beloved Detroit communities.”  


We will stay, learn, and cultivate partnerships with the community.  Our work will be side by side with other youth from the community on meaningful projects.  We will perform day-long work projects and learn about issues surrounding poverty, injustice, hope, and dignity.  We will balance hands-on experience with daily discussions and reflections.  From these, areas of passion will be discovered and transformed into meaningful actions.  


The purpose of the project is to cultivate the skills needed to think about locally based social problems and to empower youth to be engaged in actions which support the development of community organizing and leadership.  Having youth from many different areas in and around the city will start to change the negative perception of Detroit and help rebuild the city from the ground up.